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Assembly approves penalty and notice standardization for misleading 421-a notices
Summary
A bill to prohibit landlords from willfully providing incorrect 421-a expiration dates on tenant notices and to require HCR-standardized riders passed after debate over enforcement, evidentiary scope, and a $1,000 per-violation penalty; sponsors said tenants have been harmed by inaccurate notices.
Assemblymember Rosenthal sponsored a bill amending the real property tax and rent-notice framework to prohibit landlords from willfully providing misleading or incorrect information on the required 421-a expiration notice and to require the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR) to standardize the tenant notice rider. The sponsor said inaccurate expiration dates have caused tenants to leave units unnecessarily.
Questioners asked whether existing laws (for example, general business law or HCR regulations) already address fraudulent misrepresentation and whether HCR had been consulted. Members pressed for evidence of scale, for mechanisms distinguishing willful from inadvertent errors, and for enforcement details — including whether HCR had the capacity and what an enforcement appeal process would look like. The sponsor responded that HCR would determine willfulness, that many cases were reported from her district, and that because tax-benefit recipients often have legal teams, the penalty is appropriate to deter bad actors.
The Assembly voted to pass the bill (Ayes 92, Nays 47). The measure includes a civil penalty for willful violations and directs HCR to implement the standardized rider and enforcement procedures.
